NTCA Touts Telehealth Benefits of Extended Reality and AI in Rural Areas

Extended reality technologies, including virtual and alternative reality, as part of telehealth offer promise for Americans in rural communities, NTCA said in a report released Thursday. Moreover, AI “promises unique diagnostic and epidemiological benefits for care management,” the report said. The technologies together “offer advancements for mental health treatment, physician training and personalized care management.” NTCA noted that 66% of U.S. healthcare provider shortage areas are in rural counties. “This disparity in healthcare access is pronounced by findings that rural residents are, on average, older and less likely to be insured than urban counterparts” and experience “higher mortality risks from heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, stroke, and respiratory disease than their urban peers,” the report said.